We were thankfully safe, and relatively dry, after Irene raged through town, but some of our neighbors were not so lucky. It was hard not to feel just a little embittered at the folks down in New York shouting Overrreaction! while whole towns and historic covered bridges rattled down swollen rivers in Vermont.
But, like I say, we were safe and dry, and only lost power for a few minutes. Which meant that my emergency plan of grilling and canning the rapidly melting food in the freezer thankfully never came to fruition. Instead, one rainy evening, I made a meal that looks toward autumn, while still taking full advantage of the plentiful; produce of summer — roast local chicken (Square Roots Farm), small salted red potatoes, chard sauté with dill, parley, and green onions, and smashed purple haze carrots with cumin and caraway. The last one is the recipe I want to share with you today.
Smashed Carrots with Cumin & Caraway Recipe
From The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters
The delightfully eggplant-toned purple haze carrots look nice in this dish, but regular carrots will look and taste great, too — they take on a vibrant orange hue when cooked. I found that a sprinkling of dukkah — not to be confused with dukkha — perfectly compliments the light savoryness of the carrots, and adds a satisfying crunch. Use freshly ground spices if you can. If I’m feeling particularly energetic, I’ll grind my spices in a mortar, but a coffee grinder reserved for spices only will do.
- 1 1/2 lbs. carrots, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch thick coins
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp. ground caraway
- salt and pepper
- 1-2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- chopped cilantro
- dukkah (optional)
- Heat a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the carrots and garlic and cook until the carrots are tender. (Pierce one with a fork to test its doneness — they take longer than you’d think.)
- In a small pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 7 minutes.
- To the onion, add the cumin and caraway and a bit of salt and hold over the heat for a minute or two, until fragrant.
- Add the cooked carrots, stir, and cook for a few minutes more to let the flavors mingle. Turn off the heat and smash the carrots with a fork or potato masher. A rough texture is perfect here. Add the lemon juice, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve topped with cilantro and dukkah.